Think twice before trashing that rusty, old stove. It might be worth more than you think.

With metal prices soaring, some residents are doing just that — turning trash into treasure.

The transformation happens daily at Shoreline Recycling and Supply Inc., a division of Louis Pados Iron & Metal Co. Residents pour into the Muskegon business daily, trading in everything from old playground equipment to junk cars for cash.

For Clayton Bugbee, it's a way of life. The self-described "scrap hauler" has been turning metal in for cash for 35 years.

Chronicle/Ken StevensCharles White, 27, of Fremont unloads one of three clothes dryers he brought. Enlarge photo

Calls come in daily, from realtors, friends and business owners, all of whom direct the former Marine to the nearest pile of scrap metal. Maybe it's a pile of brass piping that has grown too large in a friend's backyard. Or maybe a neighbor's pesky dishwasher finally croaked. Whatever it is, Bugbee is usually willing to haul it away.

And if he's lucky, he strikes a jackpot.

That happened a few years back, when Bugbee said he got a call from a realtor asking him if he would haul the stamping equipment out of a now defunct stamping shop.

The equipment happened to be nickel -- worth $3,000.

"That's my bread and butter," Bugbee said after he received nearly $200 for a load of "various steel" products. "They were happy to just get rid of it."

"It's a zoo," Bennett said, as haulers clutching slips of paper gathered in his business, some talking of what the price of steel is today. "Prices are at or near record highs -- that's why we've been so busy."

Copper was up 26 percent, platinum up 24 percent and aluminum up 21 percent in May compared to April. Base metal prices have doubled since a year ago, according to Steel Business Briefing, a steel industry newsletter.

Aluminum cans were fetching $1 a pound on Wednesday while stainless steel was going for $1.20. Copper was at $3.40 per pound.

Chronicle/Ken StevensA section of scrap metal in the yard at Padnos-Shoreline Division. With metal prices soaring, some residents are turning trash into cash. Enlarge photo

On Friday and Mondays, as many as 350 to 400 people stop by Shoreline Recycling to turn in their junk metal, Bennett said. Individuals account for nearly 70 percent of sales, with businesses such as electricians and plumbers making up the rest.

The high prices are occurring largely because of increased demand -- particularly from China and India -- and the weak dollar, said Bruce Savage, vice president for communications from the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, a national trade group representing recycling industries.

"There is both demand from the domestic side but increasingly from the international side as well," he said. "Because of the weak dollar, that export is more expensive."

In 2006, more than 7.7 million tons of copper, aluminum and stainless steel were recycled, according to the institute.

Like Bugbee, many of the sellers at Shoreline Recycling are regulars.

About 20 faded Polaroid pictures of the die-hard daily sellers hang on a wall. There's names like Crazy Dave, Kyle with "he's silly" scratched along the picture and Patti Sue, who is a man.

Jamie Benedict, who works the scale at Shoreline, knows many by name.

"It's one on one," Benedict said. "Its personal and I like that," adding that at least 40 percent of the sellers are in once a week.

Still, new customers regularly walk through the doors, too.

Julie Kitchen recently sold her family's broken grill at Shoreline.

Chronicle/Ken StevensErika Goudzwaard works on checking in customers at the scale. Enlarge photo

"Our grill broke, so my kids told me to call this place and they told me they would take anything," Kitchen said. "It was crazy because it was something I would have just thrown out," adding that she received $60 for it.

Once customers see how easy it is to sell scrap, they don't stop.

When it comes to Tom Jones, it's become a mindset. When he sees trash, his eyes scan it for metal.

So when the Muskegon native was working on a friend's roof, he knew he was in luck when he spotted sheets of aluminum.

As he sat in line at Shoreline, Jones clutched a slip of paper for his $17 worth of aluminum.